AMD unveils new AI chips at CES 2026 to compete directly with Nvidia

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Monday revealed new AI-focused PC processors and detailed its next-generation data center platform during a keynote at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

Chief executive Lisa Su presented the company’s upcoming Helios AI data center system and displayed a full rack unit on stage. She described Helios as the company’s most advanced AI rack to date.

The Helios system is designed to compete directly with Nvidia’s rack-scale offerings. AMD said the platform will pair 72 of its MI455X GPUs in a single rack, matching the scale of Nvidia’s latest NVL72 system built around Rubin GPUs.

AMD also provided additional information on its forthcoming MI500 series data center GPUs. The company said the chips are expected to deliver up to a 1,000-fold increase in AI performance compared with its current MI300X products.

Su said the performance gains are necessary to meet projected demand. She said AMD expects as many as 5 billion people to use AI applications daily within the next five years, requiring a 100-fold increase in global computing capacity.

AMD’s data center AI business has expanded over the past year. The company’s shares rose 76 percent over the last 12 months, compared with a 30 percent increase for Nvidia. Nvidia continues to lead the sector, with a market value of about $4.5 trillion, while AMD’s market capitalization stands at roughly $359 billion.

In addition to data center hardware, AMD showcased work in robotics. Su introduced a humanoid robot developed by Generative Bionics, a company backed by AMD. The robot, named GENE.01, is designed for use in industrial settings and runs on AMD CPUs and GPUs.

On the PC side, AMD announced its Ryzen AI 400 Series and Ryzen AI Pro 400 Series processors. The chips are positioned to compete with Intel’s latest Core Ultra 3 processors built on its 18A process.

AMD said the processors offer up to 12 high-performance CPU cores, integrated Radeon 800M graphics, and a neural processing unit delivering up to 60 trillion operations per second. The company said the design supports long battery life alongside AI and gaming workloads.

AMD also introduced its Ryzen AI Max+ chips for premium laptops and workstations, along with the Ryzen AI Halo developer platform. The compact system is intended to allow developers to build and test AI models locally. Pricing was not disclosed.